Merganser, yes! Wood ducks here!
The hooded merganser is laying in the south nest. There were 3 eggs in there yesterday and she was back this morning and undoubtedly added another. Each egg-laying visit typically lasts less than an hour.
There were 10 wood ducks in the yard today! More than we’ve seen in recent years; last year there were only a couple of pairs. Both the east and west nests have now had a few quick (e.g. 5 minute) “apartment hunting” visits.
There’s no reason yet to stream the cameras live (unless you enjoy tuning in on some wood shavings); I’m guessing I’ll start streaming in a couple of weeks.
Do you want yet another really exciting picture of duck eggs? Of course you do! Below are the merganser eggs in the south nest yesterday after I moved the shavings aside. Below that are three pictures of the ducks in the yard today. You’ll see 8 of them. Two more were out of the photos, off to the right.




That’s fantastic to see.